Every year, a handful of local bands are selected to provide the live soundtrack to the Bolder Boulder, keeping runners energized through every mile of the 10K race. Only one in recent history can call the event a repeat gig.

Zyzzyx Road, a six-piece classic rock and blues band from Louisville, has played Bolder Boulder for four years in a row. The only other recurring musical acts for the 34-year-old event, at least since Ron Bostwick took over as entertainment director in 2007, are the Elvis and Blues Brothers impersonators and the Boulder High Pep Band. The rest of the bands change every year, but Zyzzyx Road has managed to hold its spot on 13th Street behind Fleet Feet.

"I ran the Bolder Boulder for 16 years," keyboardist DeAnn Dickinson said. "I was really familiar with it and I noticed the bands and the music along the way, and I thought the only way that I would ever stop running this race is if I got to play music in the race."

Dickinson started scouting locations and found a perfect makeshift stage in a concrete roof that covers some dumpsters behind Fleet Feet. The spot is just at the bottom of a big hill at mile four of the race, by Casey Middle School. She knew the owner of Fleet Feet at the time, so she got the OK from her and Bostwick. Since then, the energy of Bolder Boulder has kept Zyzzyx Road wanting to come back.

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"It's all the people. Fifty thousand people running by, listening to you play, and they're pumping their fists in the air, gaining energy from us," Dickinson said. "On that day we play all our high-energy classic rock stuff to give them energy. We do mostly covers, but we do have an original. Our original that was written by our lead guitarist William Eliason is called 'I'm A CEO' and it's on the Bolder Boulder CD."

But for all the fun, playing Bolder Boulder can be hard work. Zyzzyx Road plays for three straight hours, and Dickinson said they never play the same song twice. The band also has to set up all of its own equipment. They all arrive around 5 a.m. to haul the equipment up onto the concrete platform, about eight feet off the ground, and then prepare the soundboard, mics and monitors.

The band is hardly older than the years they've played Bolder Boulder. The members started to get together about seven years ago when Dickinson met Eliason and acoustic guitarist Maurice Vigil in church. They started playing together at an annual Fourth of July backyard party, along with Dickinson's now 22-year-old son and bassist Tony Dickinson. Tony then brought in his longtime friend and drummer, Travis Moberg, and three years ago, Tracy Reichenbach joined to lend her vocal talents.

For this year's race, Dickinson said the highlights of Zyzzyx Road's set list include Led Zeppelin's "Rock 'N' Roll," ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man," Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" and Tower of Power's "What Is Hip."

"One that is really is really popular that we only pull out for Bolder Boulder is 'Mony Mony,'" Dickinson said. "And one we're pulling out this year this year because it's appropriate is 'School's Out' by Alice Cooper."

Dickinson said much hasn't changed over Zyzzyx Road's four years at Bolder Boulder. The band gets a little better at the setup each year, but otherwise it's been the same fun community event.

"We have people every year walk down the street who aren't participants in the race, who pull up lawn chairs and just listen to us play," Dickinson said. "What's totally cool is to have people in costume or not in costume, usually later on in the race with the walkers and the joggers, will stop and dance. It's an awful lot of fun."

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